Collection: Air Pumps

Quiet, Cheap, and Hard to Kill

An air pump does jobs a water pump can't do well: running a sponge filter in a fry or shrimp tank, driving airstones in quarantine, adding gentle surface movement for gas exchange. And with battery backup, it's what keeps oxygen moving when the power drops.

Picking the Right One

• Diaphragm pumps — the everyday choice for a single tank; match outlet count and rated depth to your setup.
• Linear piston pumps — heavy-duty output for fish rooms and deep sumps, with rebuild parts and diaphragms sold separately.
• Battery-backup pumps — AC/DC units that kick in automatically during an outage.
• Airline fittings — control valves, tees and check valves for splitting lines and blocking back-siphon.

If the pump sits below the water line, use a check valve — it's a couple of dollars against a flooded pump. Questions? Email info@jlaquatics.com.